Sinner: A Prequel to the Mongoliad

A severed head and a cry of “Witchcraft!” start a frenzied witch hunt in a sleepy German village. When her dead husband’s severed head appears on her doorstep, a local woman is charged with practicing heretical rituals. It is up to the knights to discover the truth behind the brutal murder before the torches are lit and the woman is burned at the stake. Their task proves daunting, though, as the townspeople have their own long-buried secrets and sins that they want to keep hidden - even if it means allowing the sacrifice of an innocent woman.

Dreamer: A Prequel to the Mongoliad

Raphael of Acre, a young initiate of the Shield-Brethren, becomes a war hero during a vicious battle for control of a Muslim stronghold. One of his companions, Eptor, is wounded in the battle and falls under the influence of strange hallucinations. When a superior plots to manipulate Eptor’s visions into war propaganda, Raphael struggles between duty to the cause and duty to his faith. Unable to reconcile his roles as Christian and soldier, Raphael seeks out an unlikely source of counsel - Francis of Assisi.

Seer: The Third Prequel to the Mongoliad: The Foreworld Saga

When a merchant appears at the Catalonian chapter house of the Shield-Brethren, seeking to hire guards for his caravan, young Andreas is suspicious. Knights with his martial prowess are above protecting mere cargo wagons. Yet Andreas’s wanderlust outweighs his concern, and soon the group is headed to the merchant’s mountain village - and into great danger. As the caravan approaches, a woman suffering from terrifying visions feverishly paints her latest revelation - in her own blood. The image horrifies her fellow villagers, who fear an imminent attack, or worse, the return of the brutal Inquisition.

The Mongoliad: The Foreworld Saga, Book 1

In the late nineteenth century a mysterious group of English martial arts aficionados provided Sir Richard F. Burton, well-known expert on exotic languages and historical swordsmanship, a collection of long-lost manuscripts to translate. Burton’s work was subsequently misplaced, only to be discovered by a team of amateur archaeologists in the ruins of a mansion in Treiste. From Burton's translations and the original source material, the epic tale of The Mongoliad was recreated.

terrible ending

I think anyone who purchased this book should get the next part free, if they want. It didn't come to any conclusion at ALL. I mean did they just run ..Show More »out of paper or was it only suppose to be so many pages long. I'm am used to fantasy names , but this book was extremely hard to follow. Don't waste your time.

The Mongoliad: The Foreworld Saga, Book 2

In the aftermath of the Mongolian invasion of 1241, beleaguered Christians struggle with the presence of a violent horde and a world turned upside down. Apocalyptic fever sweeps through Europe, infecting even the most rational individuals, leaving all to wonder if they are seeing the end times - or an hour when new heroes will emerge from the ruins of cataclysmic defeat.

Flawed but fascinating

Many reviews of Book I of "The Mongoliad" were lukewarm at best. I like these stories more than some readers seem to, but agree that some of the comp..Show More »laints are valid and apply to this Book 2.

Complaint 1: variations on the theme of "rambling," "choppy," "no ending." All true. The books move between different characters and storylines and jump from one cliffhanger to another without a lot of closure. The first book ends abruptly, and the second book picks up with two new characters in a totally new location and storyline (Rome in the aftermath of Pope Gregory IX's death). But the Book I storylines do return (we DO find out what happened beyond the red veil) and I remain intrigued, even though I suspect some details got dropped along the way.

Complaint 2: "No characterization." Somewhat agree, but it doesn't bother me in this action-packed adventure. I agree there is no deep backstory for most of the characters, and there are so many characters (often with unfamiliar names) that it's easy to get them confused. I found the Mongol characters--the Khan and his entourage in the Mongolian capital--to be more fleshed out than the Europeans.

Complaint 3: "Too much detailed description of fighting." Somewhat agree. Medieval ninjas. But the authors are upfront about the fact that an interest in medieval fighting styles got them into the story in the first place.

Complaint 4, "book by committee." I disagree, I think the voice is consistent throughout.

Complaint 5. "Boring, too much history, hard to follow the history." This is where I'm on a different page. My interest in and knowledge of history has been spurred and enhanced by novels such as this one. I was relatively unfamiliar with this particular era and set of events beforehand. I was fascinated by the events described in the book, which inspired me to do a fair amount of outside reading. I learned a lot.

There is conversation you can read on Amazon between George R. R. Martin ("Game of Thrones" guy, just in case you didn't know) and Bernard Cornwell, author of many historical novels include the "Sharpe's Rifles" series about the Napoleonic Wars. They talk about (1) the close kinship of epic fantasy and historical fiction and (2) the way books and characters seem to "drive" themselves, so that an author him/herself is often caught by surprise by the direction a storyline or character takes. I think "The Mongoliad" is a case in point for both of these assertions.

The Mongoliad: The Foreworld Saga, Book 3

An untested group of Shield-Brethren initiates stand before the sprawling Mongol army in a bloody circus of sadistic violence, while a hardened company of their finest roam the desolate wasteland of the Mongol empire, wrapping their dead in blood-soaked soil and struggling to find the strength to fight even as they mourn. The warrior-monks, both in the East and the West, sharpen their swords for a final battle. The Khan of Khans must be slain if Christendom is to survive.

This Book Rocks

Yes: the book is starts at great tempo and finishes with a bang I think the only down point is that the next book will need to bow this one away...Show More »

Katabasis: The Foreworld Saga, Book 4

Thirteenth-century Europe has been saved from annihilation at the hands of the Mongols, to be sure, but new and terrible threats are at hand: political and religious turmoil threaten to turn the warriors' world upside down once more. Painted against a rich backdrop of medieval mysticism and Russian folklore, Katabasis weaves together the tales of victor and victim alike in a fearless exploration of what it means not just to survive, but to truly live again.

Siege Perilous: The Mongoliad Cycle, Book 5

Ocyrhoe, a young, cunning fugitive from Rome, safeguards a chalice of subtle but great power. Finding herself in France, she allies with the persecuted, pacifist Cathar sect in their legendary mountaintop stronghold, Montségur. There she resists agents of the Roman Church and its Inquisition, fights off escalating, bloody besiegement by troops of the King of France, and shields the mysterious cup from the designs of many. Percival, the heroic Shield-Brethren knight from The Mongoliad, consumed by his mystical visions of the Holy Grail, is also drawn to Montségur - where the chalice holds the key to his destiny.

Disappointed

The first 4 parts of the Mongolliad were very well written and had a good story line and the reader was very good. This last volume was poorly writte..Show More »n and even more poorly performed. It was hard to tell which was more poorly done.

The Shield-Maiden: The Foreworld Saga: A Foreworld SideQuest

Sigrid is a Shield-Maiden who yearns to break free of the restrictions of her father’s home and join the Sworn Men in an actual raiding expedition. When a small diplomatic party that includes members of the Shield-Brethren lands at her family’s holding on Göttland, the party’s second in command, Halldor, sees in Sigrid a vision of beauty and power that might challenge - and even destroy - many men.

Great Story, we need more

Hearing the making of a Shield Maiden and her connection to the Vor (sp?) was incredible. And I believe the authors emphasized the way in which it eff..Show More »ected those who had known her a long time. The short story emphasized the things it needed to and yet dwelled on the parts that it needed to to get the weight of the moment across.

The Lion in Chains: A Foreworld SideQuest

Many were displeased with the “peace” King Richard of England brokered in the Holy Land, and his return from the Crusades wasn’t greeted with cheers, but rather shackles. Now a “guest” of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Lion-Hearted is being held for an exorbitant ransom…so much money that it seems unlikely that the silver will make its way from Britain to Germany.